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Al Hill III (right) stands next to Debbie Sanchez, a friend, at the start of a prosecutorial misconduct hearing Thursday morning in Judge Lena Levario's Dallas courtroom. Hill has accused Dallas County Districty Attorney Craig Watkins of bringing mortgage fraud charges against him as a favor to prominent Dallas attorney Lisa Blue.

Update at 12:15 p.m. by Scott Goldstein and Diane Jennings: Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins defied a subpoena this morning and did not appear to testify in a hearing regarding allegations he committed prosecutorial misconduct in a mortgage fraud case against a member of a prominent Dallas family.

State District Judge Lena Levario repeatedly requested that Watkins come to her courtroom to testify in the hearing regarding the pending felony cases against Al Hill III. After several delays, Assistant District Attorney Teresa Guerra Snelson appeared in the courtroom and told the judge Watkins would not be coming.

“He is in the office and has been in the office,” Snelson said. “He is not going to make himself available on the basis that it is his responsibility to the criminal justice system to abide by his oath to protect the office.”

Snelson then added that Watkins and his wife and daughter are also sick.

“I know him to be ill,” Snelson said. “He was not well yesterday. He is not well today. He is here. He is discharging his responsibilities to the citizens of Dallas.”

Levario appeared frustrated and said the district attorney had, “violated an active order to come down to this court. It is a serious matter.”

Hill III’s attorney John Hueston was also angered by the refusal to appear.

“The last time I heard an argument like that it was President Nixon,” Hueston said.
Hueston called the explanation “beyond belief. We would like to have him down here to begin questioning.”

But the judge said that she generally would not require someone who is ill to come to court to testify. She therefore asked the District Attorney’s office if they would like to reschedule the hearing and they opted to do so.

The hearing was rescheduled for March 7.

There was no further mention in the courtroom of a possible ongoing FBI investigation.

Original item at 9:02 a.m.: An expected hearing on allegations of misconduct against Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has been delayed as the judge seeks to determine whether the FBI is currently investigating Watkins.

We’re in a holding pattern until at least 9:30.

Several high-profile witnesses were expected to testify at the hearing today on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct against Watkins.

The proceeding before state District Judge Lena Levario is tied to a pending felony case against Al Hill III, a member of a wealthy Dallas family that has been embroiled in a bitter battle over money for years.

Hill III’s attorney contends Watkins brought the charges against Hill III as a favor to a friend and generous political donor, Lisa Blue. She is a prominent lawyer who was suing Hill III in an unrelated civil case.

If they’re able to determine that there is an ongoing federal investigation, it could represent a possible conflict of interest for the DA’s office in its prosecution of the Hill III case.

Before she sued him to collect attorneys’ fees, Blue represented Hill in a bitter civil fight for his share of the family fortune begun by oilman H.L. Hunt decades ago.

The inheritance case was settled for about $115 million, according to court filings. But after Hill disagreed on how much he owed Blue and two other attorneys in legal fees, they took him to civil court seeking $50 million.

Two weeks before the fee dispute was to go to trial, Hill and his wife, Erin, learned the district attorney’s office was charging them with mortgage fraud in connection with a home-equity loan application.

Hill’s attorneys contend Watkins committed prosecutorial misconduct by consulting with Blue about the criminal case while she was suing Hill in the civil matter. Blue is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Thursday’s misconduct hearing, in which Watkins might testify, is “one of these deals you live for,” said Hill’s lawyer, George Milner.

“There’s a clear injustice, and as an attorney, you get the opportunity to at least attempt to correct it,” he said. “The evidence suggests that Craig had an outside motive to indict this case.”

Watkins declined to comment, but his attorney, Russell Wilson, said the district attorney “did not do anything wrong.”

“The district attorney’s only motivation for presenting these cases to the grand jury was a good-faith belief that the defendant had committed a crime,” Wilson’s filings say.